1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an insulative/protective sheet for battery insulation and display panel protection and a portable information terminal with an insulative/protective sheet for battery insulation and display panel protection, and more particularly to an insulative/protective sheet disposed in a portable information terminal for insulating a battery and electrode terminals from each other and protecting a display panel, and a portable information terminal with such an insulative/protective sheet for battery insulation and display panel protection.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable information terminals, which are also referred to as PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) having a flat display unit such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) unit, e.g., portable computers, electronic notebooks, portable telephone sets, PHS terminals, pagers, etc. have been in widespread usage. Generally, those portable information terminals employ a battery as an electric power supply.
Entertainment apparatus for downloading a game program from a mass storage unit such as a CD-ROM which is an optical disk to perform a video game or playing back music stored in a CD are also wisely used. There are also commercially available portable information terminals (PDAs) that can removably be connected to entertainment apparatus for downloading a game program via the entertainment apparatus to perform a video game on themselves. Such portable information terminals have a flat display unit such as a liquid crystal display unit, and employ a battery as an electric power supply.
When portable information terminals are shipped as products from the factory, an insulative sheet for providing electric insulation between a built-in battery and electrode terminals to prevent the battery from being unduly consumed is disposed between the built-in battery and the electrode terminals. A protective sheet is placed on a flat display unit for protecting the panel of the flat display unit against scratch.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an insulative/protective sheet for battery insulation and display panel protection, which can easily be manufactured and can easily be mounted on and removed from a portable information terminal, and a portable information terminal with such an insulative/protective sheet.
According to the present invention, there is provided an insulative/protective sheet comprising an insulator for use between a built-in battery disposed in a portable information terminal and electrode terminals in the portable information terminal, for providing insulation between the battery and the electrode terminals, a protector for being placed on a display panel of the portable information terminal, for protecting the display panel, the insulator and the protector being constructed as a unitary sheet.
The insulative/protective sheet can be manufactured with ease and can easily be mounted on and removed from the portable information terminal.
The unitary sheet may be made of synthetic resin.
A member is disposed on a surface of the insulator which faces the electrode terminals, for reducing frictional forces applied to the electrode terminals. Therefore, when the insulator is pulled from between the battery and the electrode terminals, no strong frictional forces are applied from the sheet to the electrode terminals.
The protector may be transparent. The transparent protector allows the user to visually recognize the display panel through the protector.
The protector may carry a mark and/or letters.
According to the present invention, there is also provided a portable information terminal, comprising a built-in battery, a display panel, and an insulative/protective sheet having an insulator for use between the built-in battery and electrode terminals in the portable information terminal, for providing insulation between the battery and the electrode terminals, and a protector placed on the display panel, for protecting the display panel, the insulator and the protector being constructed of a unitary structure.
The insulative/protective sheet of the portable information terminal can be manufactured with ease. The insulative/protective sheet can easily be mounted on and removed from the portable information terminal.
In the portable information terminal, the unitary sheet may be made of synthetic resin.
In the portable information terminal, a member is disposed on a surface of the insulator which faces the electrode terminals, for reducing frictional forces applied to the electrode terminals. Therefore, when the insulator is pulled from between the battery and the electrode terminals, no strong frictional forces are applied from the sheet to the electrode terminals.
The portable information terminal may further comprises a battery cavity with the electrode terminals disposed therein, the battery being housed in the battery cavity, and a battery cover placed in an open end of the battery cavity, the insulator being inserted in the battery cavity and extending through a gap between the open end of the battery cavity and the battery cover, the insulative/protective sheet being mounted along outer surfaces of the portable information terminal which range from the battery cavity in which the insulator is inserted to the display panel on which the protector is placed.
In the portable information terminal, the protector may be transparent, and may carry a mark and/or letters.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown by way of illustrative example.